Travelers aren't the only ones who have been affected by the travel chaos. Air Canada requires flight attendants to work for free when a flight is delayed.
Most major US and Canadian airlines only pay flight attendants full wages for time spent in the air and do not give extra compensation for delays or unexpected hold ups on the tarmac. According to the companies, the time it takes to board and taxi an aircraft is already included in hourly pay.
It has become more and more common for flights to be delayed and canceled around the world.
While some flight attendants have succeeded in getting their employers to pay them more for boarding, others at airlines like American Airlines, Southwest, and Air Canada are still trying to get more compensation.
The Air Canada employee, who has been a flight attendant with the airline for over 20 years, said she worked for more than 16 hours straight on an international flight this summer after it was delayed 3.5 hours.
"We just want to be paid for the time that we're actually at work because right now a three or four hour delay is standard procedure at the airport" she said.
She said that she doesn't think it's too much to ask to be paid for time worked. I don't want to be paid to sit on my butt.
In order to protect her job, the flight attendant spoke on the condition of anonymity. Air Canada did not reply immediately.
The president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents Air Canada flight attendants, said that shortening flight attendant's rest times increases the risk of unruly passengers and dangerous cabin temperatures.
Flight disruptions caused by passengers, which hit an all time high in early 2021, briefly spiked over Memorial Day weekend, as over 4,500 flights were canceled or delayed.
A variety of factors have led to a surge in flight delays this summer.
The flight attendants are responsible for explaining the complicated reasons behind a delay to a plane full of frustrated passengers according to an Air Canada employee.
She described it as a bomb. You can't expect people to act normal because you don't know what kind of hell they've been through before they get on the plane.
Flight attendant pay depends on years of experience and hours worked.
Entry-level pay for Air Canada flight attendants starts at $28.85 an hour following the completion of a 7-week, full-time training program that is paid at a "lower rate." The starting salary for flight attendants is around $27,000 per year.
The Air Canada flight attendant, who is paid the airline's highest possible wage of $62 an hour, said her entry level colleagues are not getting paid enough for what they're having to put up with.
They don't have enough money to buy food for themselves, so they steal food off the airplane to eat on the layovers. The entire system isn't sustainable.
Do you work as a flight attendant. Let us know if you have a tip or story to tell. From a non-work email address, email this reporter.
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